River Valley High School Fishing members Josh and Jake Dugger of Pottsville hauled in 19.03 pounds on day two of The Bass Federation High School World Finals for a 31.15 two-day total and the top spot in the tournament. (THE COURIER / Travis Simpson)

The River Valley High School Fishing team claimed the top three spots on day two of The Bass Federation (TBF) High School Fishing World Finals during Thursday’s unseasonably cool and rainy day at Lake Dardanelle State Park.

Jake Dugger and Josh Dugger of Pottsville clinched the top spot with a weigh-in of 19.3 pounds Thursday, for a two-day total of 31.15.

Tanner Jones and Tanner Tackett reeled in 10.14 pounds for a combined 30.05 across two days for second, while Wednesday’s leaders, Colten Aday and Jake White, fell to third with a five-bass limit of 10.14 pounds. Aday and White hauled in 29.15 pounds total.

The Duggers reeled in their first fish at 1 p.m. on a crank bait and hit their limit shortly thereafter.

“Once we caught that one, it picked up,” Josh said. “Yesterday was tough, real slow, but once we got our hit, we got our limit pretty quick and didn’t have to cull.”

The pair said they left fish in the water and planned to return to the same spot today in the semifinals.

The High School Fishing World Finals, which drew 117 boats, with two anglers per boat from 17 states to Russellville, has a unique tournament format.

After the first two days of competition only the top two anglers from each state advanced to today’s semifinal round — the idea is to create an even playing field and give the qualifying teams a leg-up in the tournament, although it also means Aday and White’s overall third place finish, behind two other local teams, forces them to fish their way back into the finals during a consolation “second-chance” round.

From there the top 10 anglers from the semifinals and the top 10 from the consolation round will make up the 20-team final to decide the champion on Saturday.

Only once in history has a “home lake” team claimed the championship — an honor which belongs to former River Valley High School Fishing club members Sawyer Grace and Austin Cathcart of Russellville, who won it in 2012 on Lake Dardanelle.

River Valley High School Fishing Day 2 results

1. Jake Dugger-Josh Dugger, 19-03 (31.15)

2. Tanner Jones-Tanner Tackett, 17.03 (30.05)

3. Colten Aday-Jake White, 19.14 (29.15)

17. David Piker-Nick Kuras, 9.04 (22.07)

29. Hunter Daniel-Brenden Farley, 13.00 (19.0)

46. Shawn Price-Jason Kendrick, 5.05 (14.03)

48. Mathew Burnett-Gary Morrison, 5.12 (13.14)

67. Nate Parks-Justin Dorrough, 5.13 (11.03)

78. Jordon Hawkins-Logan Stone, 6.06 (8.12)

83. Jonathan Dotson-Tanner Whitted, 3.14, (8.03)

91. Nathan Johnson-Jason Weiler, 0.0 (5.05)

For complete results and photos, visit highschoolfishing.org.

Schedule

Today, Semifinals and “Second-Chance” round

6 a.m. — National Anthem, takeoff

1:30 p.m. — Second-chance weigh-in

3 p.m. — Semifinal weigh-in

Saturday, Finals and Multi-species tournament

6 a.m. — National Anthem, takeoff

6:30 — Multi-species tournament open to all teams not in final top 20

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Lakeside festivities, including mobile aquarium and games